Small Study Shows Smoking May Worsen MS, UK

Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis
Also Included In: Smoking / Quit Smoking;  Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 19 Oct 2007 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

New research carried out at the buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Centre at the University of Buffalo in America has shown that smoking may increase the degree of disability in people who have multiple sclerosis (MS).

The study of 253 people with MS shows that smokers had significantly higher levels of disability and lower brain volume than the non-smokers as measured by MRI brain scans. A relationship was also shown between lower brain volumes and higher numbers of cigarettes smoked per day.

However, Dr Laura Bell, Research Communications Officer for the MS Society, said that with this type of study it was difficult to demonstrate that the effects seen are directly caused by smoking, rather than other factors.

She said: "There have been several recent studies looking at smoking and its association with the development of MS and the outcomes of these studies have varied.

"The results of this small study need to be confirmed, but they suggest that people with MS might benefit from reducing how much they smoke or stopping altogether."

Although the study shows that smoking may play a role in MS development, research in this area is often difficult to carry out because it may be adversely affected by memory problems and the delay between the impact of some of the factors which contribute to MS development and diagnosis.

David Miller, Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Institute of Neurology said: "The study is not conclusive proof, but suggests, as a previous study did, a potential for smoking to adversely affect MS. There are of course major health risks from smoking unrelated to MS."

http://www.mssociety.org.uk

• Additional
• References
• Citations